This invention relates to an apparatus and method for cooling a hot food or beverage. In particular, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for cooling a hot beverage or a hot liquid, semi-liquid or solid food product.
In retail establishments, such as coffee shops, beverages may be dispensed at temperatures (e.g., 180 Fahrenheit, F.) that are unsafe to consume. At home, consumers often mistakenly overheat their food products, and they and their children are faced with the problem of how to safely and quickly cool an excessively hot beverage, soup, stew, etc.
Microwave ovens are frequently used by children without adult supervision, and applicant's invention is a way to mitigate a problem associated with this practice. Children are often unaware of the dangers of food being too hot, and are less able to find ways to cool food.
Some retail establishments provide ice cubes to cool the hot beverages they sell, causing a dilution of the beverage, and providing the user with no ability to control the amount of cooling. Once the ice cube is in a beverage, it cannot easily be retrieved. If the beverage is allowed to cool at ambient room temperature, time is wasted and the other elements of the meal may become too cool.
The background art is characterized U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,511,451; 1,944,726; 2,021,368; 2,438,643; 2,591,375; 2,602,302; 2,876,634; 4,134,494; 4,324,111; 4,908,248; 4,931,333; 5,357,761; 5,235,823; 5,456,090; the disclosures of which patents are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Folger in U.S. Pat. No. 1,511,451 discloses a refrigerating apparatus mounted on a vehicle. The refrigerating apparatus is a chamber into which materials to be frozen are placed. Large cooling units are pre-cooled and then also placed in the chamber. The cooling units are made of standard steel tubing and plugged with threaded caps. This material and application preclude use inside a single beverage container, and the cooling units are not meant to come into contact with a food or beverage. This invention is limited in that it does not allow the user to cool a small quantity of a beverage in a normal home or commercial environment. The disclosed large steel units are not very portable, are not useable by children and are not food safe.
Aiken in U.S. Pat. No. 1,944,726 discloses a cooling unit. This invention is limited in that the sealed member is made of corrugated metal which is probably not food safe in acidic foods or beverages. Moreover, the disclosed fluted or corrugated surface is not easily cleaned of food adhering to it. Thus, a child may not be able to thoroughly clean the surface before re-freezing the unit, causing even more food or beverage to adhere to the unit the next time it is used. An assembly comprising a plurality of cooling units is not disclosed. Because the cooling unit is metallic, the user is not able to put the unit (with the coolant material removed) into a microwave oven for sterilization or cleaning.
Louis in U.S. Pat. No. 2,021,368 discloses a beverage delivery apparatus. This invention is limited in that the disclosed (narrow) siphon spout does not allow any partially solid food stuffs to be cooled and dispensed. The disclosed invention is useful only for use with large beverage containers, such as beer kegs, and not for a user's cup, mug, glass, or bowl of food. Metal chains are used to connect the hollow balls end to end, making it incapable of use in a small beverage container. Moreover, the metal components cannot be guaranteed to be food safe.
Moore in U.S. Pat. No. 2,438,643 discloses a pack for use in refrigeration anesthesia. This invention is limited in that it cannot be used to cool individual portions of beverages. Moreover, the units are covered in rubber and fabric, with seams in the fabric to produce a hinge-like connection, and laces to hold the coolant unit in place on the surface of a human body. The materials are not food safe, and the structure does not lend itself to submersion in a single-portion beverage container.
Radford in U.S. Pat. No. 2,591,375 discloses a cooling device for drinks, soups or the like. This invention is limited in that it does not solve the problem of providing a plurality of cooling units, providing the user with the option of employing more than one cooling unit to cool a beverage. Nor is there structure provided that permits efficient collection of cooling units, hence, the need for a thermometer in the disclosed device. Moreover, the disclosed cooling device is openable and closable in order to allow the user to frequently replenish the dry ice coolant material. It is not safe for the user to be handling dry ice. Nor is it food safe for a glass cooling device to be dropped in the beverage or food container. The choice of materials to be used with this device is very limited, with metals not being food safe, and glass not being safe for use by adults or children. There is a significant amount of assembly and disassembly required by the user to use the device even once. Multiple uses of the single cooling unit would be ineffective, as too much time would pass between applications, and there is no disclosure of multiple cooling units. The actual size of the disclosed container would be dictated by the size of the frozen solid that needs to be inserted into the container. A large cooling device would displace a significant amount of beverage. There is no disclosure of use of standardized amounts of coolant material, and no a way for a typical user to store the dry ice coolant material.
Poux in U.S. Pat. No. 2,602,302 discloses a combination ice and hot pack. This invention is limited in that the device is supposed to be applied to the exterior of a human body part, and is not configured for submersion into food stuffs or beverages. Moreover, the disclosed plurality of the independent compartments is provided so that the compartments can collectively be applied to the outside of a body part or surface. The material is designed to allow flexibility of the joined units and is not meant to be submerged into a consumable beverage. The structure of the device does not allow its use for cooling of a beverage.
Zimmerman et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,634 discloses a thermodynamic container. This invention is limited in that, once the beverage is placed in the disclosed container, there is no user control over the cooling process. The beverage must then be poured from the cooling container into another container in order to stop the cooling process. The problems of lack of user convenience, multiple containers being dirtied by the transfer from container to container, and lack of control over the cooling process have not been solved. The cooling material of choice is disclosed as bees wax, contained by another material providing an outer surface. Modern refrigeration may not be able to adequately freeze the beeswax without cracking the surface material, creating a contact that is not food safe. Moreover, there is no provision made for deploying a plurality of cooling units.
Wong in U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,494 discloses a combination straw and stirrer. This invention is limited in that the enlarged central section, when used as a straw, is difficult to clean, as food and liquids remain in the enlarged central section after being drawn into the cylinder. The two very small plugs could become misplaced, and even lost in the beverage, causing a safety hazard to the user. There is no provision for the expansion of the frozen material in the stirrer, and the plugs could be forced out, again creating a safety hazard, and making the stirrer unusable, since the liquid would melt into the beverage. The length and diameter of the stirrer are limited by virtue of its use as a straw. A larger diameter would allow more coolant to be used, but would also make the straw concept impractical and difficult to use, since the user would not be able to easily draw the beverage through a large diameter straw. The disclosed invention does not solve the problem of providing a plurality of devices, in case the user would want to employ another application for cooling the beverage or food material, nor is there a provision made in the design to permit efficient collection of said devices. The plugs necessary for the safe use of this device could be lost and allow leaking of the coolant material into the user's food or beverage.
Edwards in U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,111 discloses a freezing gel containment structure and method. This invention is limited in that the disclosed freezing gel tubes are attached and oriented parallel to each other. There is no provision made for use of a single tube, and use of one or more additional tubes, if needed. The user is not able to pre-select or modify the number of cooling units to employ. The tubes and coolant material are designed for use around the outside of the food material, not for immersing (total submergence) in the food or beverage. Moreover, the device is designed to provide long-term cooling, not just a reduction of temperature to meet the user's need. Thus, the Edwards invention is not designed to lower the temperature of the food or beverage from hot to warm, but rather only to attempt to create a cold food material.
Nakashima et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,248 disclose a cooling device that can be attached to any body part or to an object such as a beer bottle. This invention is limited in that it is neither intended nor designed to be placed inside a single-portion container for cooling a beverage. It has a further limitation in that it must be attached to the outside of the object to be cooled.
Henry in U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,333 discloses a thermal packaging assembly. This invention is limited in that the cooling unit is designed to be packed around items, not inserted into a container containing a food or beverage. This invention was not meant to cool a food quickly and then be removed. It is meant to cool over a long period of time, thereby making this invention inefficient for quick, short-term cooling of a beverage. This invention provides a large amount of air space around each capsule when packed. It was not meant to be submerged in an open beverage container and then removed by the user. The excessive cushioning around each cooling capsule would not be practical for insertion into a beverage, as it would displace the beverage in the container.
Snyder in U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,022 discloses a refrigerated bicycle beverage carrier. This invention is limited in that it requires that the user purchase the entire bottle/cooler system. The entire bottle/cooler system must be placed in a freezer in order to make the coolant portion useful, not solving the problem of space efficiency. This device limits the user's ability to cool a beverage or food material to that quantity of food or beverage that can be contained by the disclosed container. The user cannot cool food and beverage quantities greater than permitted by the disclosed container size. The user has no control over the amount and duration of cooling, because the food material must be either left in the disclosed container, or removed to another container to stop the cooling process. This device does not solve the problem of the user who wants to employ more than one cooling unit for cooling the beverage or food material, nor is there a provision made in the design to permit efficient collection of said cooling units. Any breakage of the plastic tube and welded areas would necessitate no longer being able to use the entire cooler system.
Spinos et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,083 discloses a beverage cooler. This invention is limited in that it relies on an inner container and a straw apparatus for drinking the beverage. The user has no control over the amount and duration of cooling, since the food material must be either left in the disclosed container, or removed to another container to stop the cooling process. This device does not solve the problem of the user who wants to employ more than one cooling unit for cooling the beverage or food material, nor is there a provision made in the design to permit efficient collection of said cooling units.
Schwartz et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,238 disclose a soft drink container cooler. This invention is limited in that it is not useable in a variety of single-portion drink containers because it must be screwed into a special receiving unit having a matching threaded opening. This precludes cooling any food other than a liquid, because the user must then be able to drink the liquid through a special opening in the threaded container top. Any food comprising chunks of food solids would not fit through the opening. There is no provision made for multiple units to further cool the beverage, and each additional separate unit, must be unscrewed, and a new unit re-inserted and screwed into the container top. This device does not solve the problem of the user who wants to employ more than one cooling unit for cooling the beverage or food material, nor is there a provision made in the design to permit efficient collection of said cooling units. This design does not solve the problem of providing a one piece unit, without separate parts that could be lost or allow the coolant material to leak into the user's food or beverage.
Coker in U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,823 discloses a cooling device. This invention is limited in that it is designed to be used to maintain a cold temperature over a long period of time. It does not solve the problem of a quick, short-term reduction in temperature by the user in order to make a beverage or food material safer to ingest. This device does not solve the problem of the user who wants to employ more than one cooling unit for cooling the beverage or food material, nor is there a provision made in the design to permit efficient collection of said cooling units. The threaded cap and plug do not solve the problem of providing a one-piece cooling unit, without separate parts that could be lost or allow leaking of the coolant material into the user's food or beverage. The prior art device illustrated in FIG. 6 of this reference requires that the cavity for the coolant material encompass the entire cooling unit and does not teach the features of the invention disclosed herein.
Schauer in U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,761 discloses a universal thermal insert for beverage containers. This device is meant to be used for continued cooling for extended periods of time and does not solve the problem of the short-term user who needs an immediate solution for an individual cooling event. The stabilizing fins do not allow for ease of insertion into many containers, and would be of little use if the container cross section was wider than the fins were designed to fit, such as a bowl. The fins would not be easily cleaned if food material were to be caught on the fins, so this does not solve the cleaning problem, especially when used by children or elderly users. This invention does not give the user any choice in application to a variety of household eating containers. The size of the fins limits the food container choice, and could present problems if forced into an opening too small for the design. Thus, application of any force would cause the contained beverage to splash out of the container. This invention is not designed to be used with any food materials with greater thickness or consistency than liquid foods. It does not solve the problem of how to cool stews or similar thick food materials. This device does not solve the problem of the user who wants to employ more than one cooling unit for cooling the beverage or food material, nor is there a provision made in the design to permit efficient collection of said cooling units.
McCoy in U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,090 discloses a baby bottle ice. This invention is limited in that it is meant to be left in the bottle through the elaborate use of O-rings, held in place by a base rim. This invention does not easily permit multiple cooling uses, as the entire device must be removed, O-rings removed, and the base rim removed before another use. This device must be left in place, within the special bottle, while the beverage is consumed, not giving the user any control over the amount of cooling and length of cooling time. This device is intended to maintain the cool temperature over a long period of time, not just for a short-term application. This device does not solve the problem of cooling the contents of a variety of containers and sizes, since the device is dependent on the base collar and insert fitting only a corresponding bottle opening and depth. If the other containers do not fit the necessary opening and rim cap size, the liquid will spill out as the user drinks, since the insert must remain inside the container. Moreover, this device does not solve the problem of the user who wants to employ more than one cooling unit for cooling the beverage or food material, nor is there a provision made in the design to permit efficient collection of said cooling units.
Roth et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,056 disclose a method and system for cooling beverages already contained in a bottle, with a self-matching mouth/lid/collar. This invention is limited in that the material contained in the thermal energy-storage member is not water, and it is unclear whether the contents are food safe if leakage should occur. The disclosed apparatus cannot be used with other user-provided containers. This device does not solve the problem of the user who wants to employ more than one cooling unit for cooling the beverage or food material, nor is there a provision made in the design to permit efficient collection of said cooling units. The threaded cap does not solve the problem of providing a one piece unit, without separate parts that could be lost or allow leaking of the coolant material into the user's food or beverage.
The foregoing review reveals that the problems remain unsolved by background art devices and methods. The structure of the invention disclosed herein solves those problems in ways that are not suggested by others. What is still needed is a way to cool individual portions of hot food and beverages in a safe and convenient manner.